Collapsible portable shelters which can be transported through ISO container shipping channels are useful for military or civilian projects of short duration or projects which are sufficiently remote that on-site construction is uneconomical. The present applicant has developed a collapsible portable containerized shelter sold commercially under the trade-mark MECC (“Mobile Expandable Container Configuration”) which is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,854 issued Jun. 9, 1998. That patent discloses a portable, collapsible shelter which when collapsed forms a single unitary container having the dimensions and characteristics which satisfy the standards for ISO shipping containers. One or both of the vertical sides of the container pivots between a closed vertical position and an open horizontal position and a flexible fabric cover extends above the pivoting wall portion while the pivoting wall portion is in the lowered horizontal position to form the shelter.
The MECC container can be transported through the usual ISO shipping channels, whether ship, rail or truck. It is stacked or loaded using forklift or crane. Due to the weight of the container however it is difficult to transport the MECC shelter by helicopter. Also the maximum floorspace expandability of the MECC from the container to the expanded shelter is a ratio of 3:1. There is therefore a need for a containerized portable shelter which is small and light enough for helicopter transport but which can also travel through container channels and has increased expandability of the floorspace.